25 QUESTIONS

The oft-mentioned remark “asking the right questions is the answer” may very well be our foolproof reminder when it comes to deciphering the meats and potatoes of everything and, I guess, everyone. As they say, wielding the right questions is tantamount to having great power. Well, I couldn’t agree more. This time, though, let me willingly give you that “great power”: to know me more. If you’ve got the time (AND interest), that is.

Oops, so serious eh?My apologies. That was just me trying to sound like I have long known what “meats and potatoes” is and not just a while ago.

Anyway, I came across this 25 Questions assignment we had way back in college while rummaging my digital files the other day. And because I’ve been in kind of I’m-so-bored-I’m-gonna-die mood lately, I decided to post my answers here, for the heck of it. And I’ll tell you what, I was oddly surprised with some of them. Maybe that’s what you get when you have gotten way past your younger self and have quite forgotten who and what you were back then. Or maybe, again, that was just me.

There’s also this 25 random questions tag that has been gaining ground on YouTube and some blogging sites. But if you go for heart-rending, headache-inducing questions, you may look into this awesome website.

1. What are your most compulsive habits? Do you regularly struggle to break these habits?

          I do have quite a few compulsive habits. But I won't reveal all of them because I think it's too personal. But let me tell you one which, I think, is worth telling.

          I have this habit of looking out for my things over and over. It's as if someone's going to take them away from me. And no matter how I try to fight such unwanted thought, I just can't help but follow "this" voice inside my head that keeps on telling me repeatedly, "Look, your books are lost!" or something like, "You have left your stuff over there." Then I have to check if I really don't have it with me.
         It's really hard. Though I believe it's still okay as long as it doesn't cause me problems and the like.

2. You know you will die of an incurable disease within three months. Would you allow yourself to be frozen within a week if you knew it would give you a modest chance of being revived in 1,000 years and live a greatly extended life?
        It is not that I'm against the idea of being "frozen" but I just don't feel like it.
        If I will die within three months, then I will just let myself die. Besides, if it's only me who will be frozen for 1,000 years, I won't be happy. Because when I "wake up," there won't be familiar faces to greet me and for sure I'll live in a strange and different sort of way where nobody will really love me as I am.

3. If you were to discover that your closest friend was a shabu dealer or user, what would you do?
        If that happens, I'll ask what made him/ her do that. If it's about sustaining his/ her family's needs and he/she just did it once (be a drug user), I'll forgive him/ her and help him/her get out of such problem. But if he/she still uses shabu frequently or still sells it, I guess this time professional help is needed. I'll take my friend to a drug rehabilitation center and let him/her be treated.
        This question really bothered me a lot because a close friend is involved. I think I have given an honest answer though I am not really certain if that's what I'll do if that'll happen. I just hope it won't.

4. What do you most strive for in your life -- accomplishment, security, love, power, excitement, knowledge or something else?
          I would say that it's happiness. And I think almost everybody would say that, too. whatever you strive for in your life, whether it's accomplishment, security, love, power, excitement, knowledge, etc., all of them lead to happiness. Whatever you think would make you happy, you will try hard to achieve that.

5. Have you considered suicide? What is so important to you that life, without it, would not be worth living?
        Yes. The reason, though, was very personal so I won't elaborate more about it.

6. If you were having difficulty on an important test and could safely cheat by looking into someone else's paper, would you do so?
        No, I certainly won't. But I admit that I did cheat once, back in high school. We had a short quiz (I don't remember the subject). Actually it was a surprise quiz and I really didn't know anything about our recent lesson then (the reason was valid). And I didn't want to flunk that test so I hid my notes inside my transparent file case and placed it atop my armchair. When the professor wasn't looking, I simply peeked into my file case and feigned that I was just thinking of the answers. Luckily (is that the right term?), I passed the test.
        It gave me a guilty feeling and right after, I promised myself that I would rather have a score of zero than cheat. And I have kept it in my heart until now. 

7. How do you picture your funeral? Is it important for you to have people mourn your death?
        I want my funeral to be filled with the people I loved and shared my life with. But I don't want them to grieve over my death. And I don't want balloons; I just don't like them at my funeral and I really don't know why. Perhaps it is because they make me sad when they're up in the air. And I don't want sadness pervade my funeral.
       I would also love to have everybody singing my favorite songs so that I won't forget them. That is my ideal funeral. Oh, I want to be cremated though.

8. Can you urinate in front of another person?
        Yes, I can. I actually do it but only in front of a girl, too (don't expect me to do it in front of a boy!).
        Though, I guess, to actually do this in front of another person is quite a taboo. But what would you do if you really need to do it and someone's in the john?

9. When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?
        I sing to myself every minute. I sing when I take a bath, when I write or even when I am just thinking of something. Music indeed is a part of my life. And I won't last a day without singing to myself or simply humming a tune.
        When it comes to singing to someone else though, I think the last time I did it was last month when my friends and I sang in a nearby mall's KTV.

10. When did you last say "I love you" to your loved ones?
        I am not the type of person who says "I love you" verbally to the ones I love. I don't know why but I am really shy when it comes to that matter. Though I always make it a point to hug and kiss my mom everyday for her to know that I do love her.

11. What was your best experience with drugs or alcohol? Your worst?
        I can't answer this one for I don't take drugs and alcoholic drinks.

12. If you knew there would be a nuclear war in one week, what would you do?
        In case a nuclear war will happen and I have a week's leeway to prepare or do the things I want to do, I'll probably travel with my family and friends to places I want to visit. I want to have my happiest moments with the people I love before I die. And at least, for the last time, I would have to see the peaceful and wonderful world God created for us before it will be turned to kaput by man.
        
13. What was your most enjoyable dream? Your worst nightmare?
        I have several enjoyable dreams though I can't remember my most enjoyable one. But I do have this certain dream which I find extraordinary -- I fell in love with a guy whom I have never met. And while I was having that dream, I really felt that I was attracted to him. 
        My worst nightmare, on the other hand, was when someone tried to kill my mom and then I found her in a coffin. I remember that in my dream, I was really scared when I saw her there. It is probably the worst thing that could ever happen to me, lose my mother.  
        
14. Which sex do you think is easier for our culture?
        At present, it doesn't matter what your sex is. Even women, who were stereotyped as second-class citizens are now given equal opportunities and rights as male citizens.

15. Would you be willing to murder an innocent person if it would end hunger, terrorism in the world?
        No, I won't! And besides, what has killing an innocent person got to do with ending hunger and terrorism?!

16. Would you accept $1M to leave the country and never set foot in it again?
         I won't! I am not saying that I will never go abroad. But not to return to my homeland ever again is a thing I will never do. I believe everybody would say that, too. No matter how far one has traveled, the thought of coming back to where he or she was born would always be present. And for me, I would love to spend my last days reminiscing my fondly experienced times here in my beloved country.

17. Do you believe in ghosts or evil spirits? Would you be willing to spend a night alone in a remote house that is supposedly haunted?
        Though still in denial, I would say that I believe in spirits or evil spirits. But not in ghosts because the Bible says that they don't exist.
        I have encountered few situations where I have seen or sort of felt their (spirits) presence but I don't want to entertain the idea that they really exist that is why I just ignore them. I am scared of them. And if I would be asked to spend a night alone in a remote house that is supposedly haunted by evil spirits, I would refuse even if I would be offered with P1 billion or even any higher amount.

18. Would you rather be extremely successful professionally and have a tolerable yet unexciting private life or have an extremely happy private life and only a tolerable professional life?
        I would rather have an extremely happy private life and only a tolerable professional life.
        Well, I am not saying that to have an extremely successful professional life would not make me happy. But there would always be a "sacrifice" if I would have such kind of life. And that "sacrifice" would be an unexciting private life where I certainly won't find peace. I would rather choose to be an ordinary person than to fret about being intruded by other people.
        
19. Are there people you envy enough that you would want to trade your life with them?
          Honestly, I don't want to trade my life with somebody else's. Although there are some whom I really admire, still I want to be unique. I want to be successful in whatever endeavors I would take by myself. And I can say that I am happy and content with my life right now. I have a loving family, really good friends, and a peaceful life which I will never trade for anything else.

20. What is the greatest accomplishment of your life? Is there anything you hope to do that is even better?
        I won't tell that my greatest accomplishment would be my academic achievements because what I consider as one is somewhat a personal triumph.
        I was a pyrophobic. I was really afraid of fire more than anything else. I couldn't even light a match or even turn on a stove because I always thought that it would explode right on my face. Even to hear a discussion about fire was something I can't stand. And for more than ten years, I had lived my life denying the fact that someday my fear of fire would be gone.
        But, over this last summer vacation, it did. And I am very glad to say that I now cook food for my family. And it is something that I am really proud of.
        There's just this one habit of mine that I can't get rid of until now, my tardiness. I really want to be on time but I can't do it. I just hope that one day, I'll learn my lesson and change for the better.

21. When were you last in a fight? What caused it? Who won?
       It is not in my nature to be quarrelsome. I really don't want to be in a fight. Though an angry argument or disagreement can't be avoided. And for that matter, I can say that I was in such, with my brother or sister perhaps, last week or maybe yesterday. I really don't remember when because it was just a petty disagreement and no one really won.

22. If you could choose the manner of your death, what would it be?
        If I could have the chance to do that, I would choose a natural death. I certainly don't want to be killed in an accident or to be murdered by somebody. It is really horrid for me. Though I am not afraid to die. Really!
        To talk about death is a reluctant thing. But we have to accept that all of us are going to die. We just have to live our life to the fullest to serve our purpose.

23. What is the worst psychological torture you can imagine suffering?
        The worst psychological torture that I can see myself suffering is to see my loved ones being killed or hurt in front of me and I can't do anything to help them.
        Just thinking of it really scares me. I don't want to be in such situation. I would rather sacrifice myself just to save them.

24. Would you like your spouse or sweetheart to be both smarter and attractive than you?
        If I would have a special someone who is both smarter and attractive than me, well I would be proud of him. But it doesn't mean that I look for someone who is smarter or more attractive than me. It is okay if he is not. What is important is he is true to me and really loves me as I am.
        But if I would have a boyfriend who happens to be smarter than me, I don't want him to brag about his intellectual superiority. I won't tolerate that!

25. If you found out that your good friend has AIDS, would you avoid him or her? What if your brother or sister has it, would you avoid him or her?
       I certainly won't. But I won't say that I won't be surprised if that will happen. Of course I'll be shocked if a good friend or a sibling of mine has AIDS. But instead of avoiding them, I will help them in any way I can. I know that people with AIDS need love and understanding. And even if everybody hates them because of what they have, I will still accept them and never leave their side.

THE CHAOS (ðə ˈkeɪɒs)

It's always a blessing to learn something new, may it be as life-changing as discovering your true calling or as trivial as knowing why Bluetooth is called as such. And while many of us sometimes get temporarily blinded when we find ourselves caught up in life's noise and haste, there's still a "chaos" that is worth getting a glimpse of.

I'm talking about "The Chaos," a poem "demonstrating the irregularity of English spelling and pronunciation" written by Dutch poet Gerard Nolst Trenité (1870-1946), under the pen name Charivarius. It first served as the appendix to his textbook's fourth edition in 1920, Drop Your Foreign Accent: engelsche uitspraakoefeningen (English pronunciation exercises), but is now known to have a dozen versions. 

I'm no native English speaker, so I can absolutely say that this poem is a revelation -- that the pronunciations of words I thought were correct are actually incorrect, like of the word "indict" and the others in blue text color. So for the fun of it, I'm challenging you to read this "modernized, abbreviated version" of the original poem aloud, then check if your pronunciations are right by watching the YouTube video below. Let's see how you will fare.

The Chaos

by Gerard Nolst Trenite

Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
I will keep you, Susy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.

Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word,
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
(Mind the latter, how it's written.)
Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as plaque and ague.
But be careful how you speak:
Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
Cloven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.

Hear me say, devoid of trickery,
Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,
Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,
Exiles, similes, and reviles;
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
Solar, mica, war and far;
One, anemone, Balmoral,
Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;
Gertrude, German, wind and mind,
Scene, Melpomene, mankind.

Billet does not rhyme with ballet,
Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.
Blood and flood are not like food,
Nor is mould like should and would.
Viscous, viscount, load and broad,
Toward, to forward, to reward.
And your pronunciation's OK
When you correctly say croquet,
Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
Friend and fiend, alive and live.

Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
And enamour rhyme with hammer.
River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
Doll and roll and some and home.
Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
Neither does devour with clangour.
Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,
Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,
Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
And then say singer, ginger, linger,
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.

Query does not rhyme with very,
Nor does fury sound like bury.
Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.
Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.
Though the differences seem little,
We say actual but victual.
Refer does not rhyme with deafer.
Foeffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
Mint, pint, senate and sedate;
Dull, bull, and George ate late.
Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,
Science, conscience, scientific.

Liberty, library, heave and heaven,
Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.
We say hallowed, but allowed,
People, leopard, towed, but vowed.
Mark the differences, moreover,
Between mover, cover, clover;
Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
Chalice, but police and lice;
Camel, constable, unstable,
Principle, disciple, label.

Petal, panel, and canal,
Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.
Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,
Senator, spectator, mayor.
Tour, but our and succour, four.
Gas, alas, and Arkansas.
Sea, idea, Korea, area,
Psalm, Maria, but malaria.
Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.
Doctrine, turpentine, marine.

Compare alien with Italian,
Dandelion and battalion.
Sally with ally, yea, ye,
Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.
Say aver, but ever, fever,
Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.
Heron, granary, canary.
Crevice and device and aerie.

Face, but preface, not efface.
Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.
Large, but target, gin, give, verging,
Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.
Ear, but earn and wear and tear
Do not rhyme with here but ere.
Seven is right, but so is even,
Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,
Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,
Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.

Pronunciation -- think of Psyche!
Is a paling stout and spikey?
Won't it make you lose your wits,
Writing groats and saying grits?
It's a dark abyss or tunnel:
Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,
Islington and Isle of Wight,
Housewife, verdict and indict.

Finally, which rhymes with enough --
Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?
Hiccough has the sound of cup.
My advice is to give it up!

BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ON POTTERMORE!

Yay! My waiting with bated breath and exasperation for the second book on Pottermore, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is finally over! Now there's another chance for me to be of help to my fellow Ravenclaws as the second Pottermore House Cup takes center stage again.


The bad news, though, is that I haven't been able to visit the site lately. The "Visit Pottermore" button did look very inviting, but I opted not to cave in. Yeah, so weird of me not to check it out then and there when I kept on saying that I wanted to explore the Book 2 already. Let's just say putting off things is my inclination these days. Well, at least I've got something "new" waiting for me.

AT LONG LAST, I GOT INTO POTTERMORE!

After months of waiting with bated breath and exasperation, Pottermore has finally opened its magic-laden doors for everyone and let me in, along with probably millions more who wish to see their name listed as “magical” next to The Boy Who Lived, and partake in his extraordinary journey.


But because life happened to me just as the public registration on Pottermore was officially unlocked in April, I was only able to sign up less than a month later. I’ve got to say thanks to my cousin for the reminder though, to think that I was the one who told her about the website. Ha ha.

Choosing my username was quite hard. You see, I wasn’t that lucky to be provided with good choices. Eventually, I just settled with what I thought sounded less corny -- QueenMirror9477 (add me up?).

And so there I was, all giddy to explore more of Harry Potter’s world.

Honestly speaking, the experience was overwhelming at first, rendering me slight confusion as to how I should interact with the "Moments" on the computer screen. There were times that I was like "That was it?!" because I had only collected one object. Turned out the key was to repeatedly zoom in and out so as to make "the collectibles" appear before your eyes.

So far, the most significant Pottermore event for me was when I finally met the Sorting Hat, and "officially" ascertained for myself that I indeed belong to where I have always placed myself in: the Ravenclaw House.


For the time being, Pottermore users are limited to exploring the Philosopher's Stone and following its story. As for me, here I am waiting again -- with bated breath and exasperation -- for the Chamber of Secrets to be unlocked. And while doing that, I'd probably just strive harder to add more to the 39 points I currently have. Ha ha.

TURN THAT FROWN UPSIDE DOWN

HOW I WISH OUR CAT, MINKY...


...COULD ALSO DO THIS!


Haay, buhay!

(Gif sourced from here)

TOGETHER... FOREVER?

While fate has been confining me in this lovelorn state, I do find it a genuinely happy thing to see people in love, may it be in person or on TV. I look at their faces and see them glow with inexplicable happiness. I listen to them utter words of promises to their special someone and I can sense the sincerity in them. I've always believed that such kind of love is bound to last. They must be really lucky to have found each other, I think to myself, only to find out later that the glow between them has petered out and the promises of forever are broken. Now I wonder, where has all of that lovely feeling gone?

Well, whether we like it or not, finding "the one" requires trial and error (though the romantic side of me insists on only one try and no error). Yes, it is saddening to hear of breakups, but it is oftentimes needed that men and women encounter a number of tries before finally finding that someone meant for them, or in the language of sentimentals, their "soul mate."

A soul mate, as the ever-reliable Wikipedia says, in current usage refers to "a romantic partner, with the implication of an exclusive life-long bond." Personally speaking, I don't believe that the word should always be attributed as such. Well, your best bud can be your soul mate, so is your mother or your sister, or anyone with whom you have a deep bond. So, in that sense, I think all of us have a soul mate, maybe even more than one.

Nevertheless, I can't help but be interested when my brother told me about this YouTube video explaining the Chinese philosophy on why wedding rings are worn on the fourth finger.

Cool, eh?

(Image from here)

STORIES OF TODAY

Today, I stumbled across "99 Tiny Stories To Make You Think, Smile and Cry," a collection of simple yet heart-warming true stories submitted by the site's readers that would indeed make you think, smile and cry.

The stories, for me, are nothing short of inspirational, with some I can somehow relate to. And so, as my way of participating in this cause of spreading positive vibes, I'm sharing these two tiny real-life stories of mine.


Today, it has been exactly two weeks since our cat Minky returned home after leaving the house and staying someplace we knew nothing about, for seven days. We are used to this habit of him in that he always comes home just a few hours after staying outside. This is what we believed in three weeks ago today when he pushed the windows open and went wandering around the neighborhood. But the following morning he didn't come back and we didn't see him, and so on the second until the sixth day. Although we didn't push through with printing posters, there was never a day that we didn't discuss about him being lost. We thought it was more likely that he was dead, crushed by a big truck on his way home. It was also because we knew that he could not fend for himself, look for food in trash bins like what cats do. We were really sad. I was really sad that on the seventh day I became hopeless about seeing him again and sobbed. Later that evening, my sister heard Minky meowing right outside our window, beaten down and covered with what we assumed was grime. He spent the following minutes making up for what he had not eaten for a week, with us adoringly watching him.

Today, I remember the kindness shown to me by a stranger -- a girl about my age -- when I was five. My mom once brought me and my younger siblings to a carnival when we were young, during which I spent most of my time riding a coin-operated kiddie ride. After using up my last one peso coin, I just sat there and watched the other kids enjoying themselves. I looked farther ahead and saw a young girl looking at me. She approached me and asked why my ride wasn't moving. I just looked at her, bewildered by her curiosity. She then inserted a coin in the ride I was sitting on and immediately ran back to where she came from afterwards, leaving me all the more confused. I don't know why, but this childhood memory of mine is so vivid that I can even tell the young girl's hair was black and short and she was wearing a white dress.

(Image from here)

SOMETHING TO PONDER: LEVELING UP PROFESSIONALLY

Unless you don't give two hoots about profound things in life, you probably have heard of so-called "dangers of complacency." Experts define it as "excessive comfort coupled with a lack of urgency to address issues or areas that need improvement and growth." We, however, need not be experts to know that they lurk in almost every aspect of our lives: interpersonal relationships, academic performance, workplace standing, inborn talents, and acquired skills, just to cite a few. To acknowledge this "threat" then is but imperative to keep ourselves from lagging behind.

A few months after getting off the track, here I am getting into the groove of things again. Up to this day, I still can't quite believe that I opted out of the competition that had pitted me against myself, and instead chose to hibernate. It was never my intention to make it this long (imagine, five months!) though, but I guess the idea is not to dwell much on the bad side. This break has nonetheless afforded me the time to know myself better and be stronger in the process.

As I see a new beginning in the offing, I believe it is high time for me to step up and move forward. Yet I thank that moment when I felt my complacency about my work taper off, for I would never realize what it is that I really wanted had I not. Indeed, I am the one responsible for my own professional maturity.

In light of this, I am posting this article from US News that enumerates several ways on how one will be able to take control of his professional growth, necessitating only a considerable amount of time and effort of course.

Take Charge of Your Professional Development
by Alexis Grant, US News

It's easy to get complacent about professional development when you're employed. If you already have a job, why should you go above and beyond to improve your skills, especially if it's not required by your company?

But making an effort to help yourself grow professionally will help you succeed, both in the short term and in the long term. And if you don't learn new skills and acquire new knowledge and experience, you're likely to fall behind your peers, which could be detrimental when you look to change positions.

"If you don't [focus on professional development], you won't be marketable in your field in five years," Alexandra Levit, author of New Job, New You: A Guide to Reinventing Yourself in a Bright New Career, wrote in an email. "In this [employment] climate, you always have to be looking ahead to what is going to be required in your potential next role."

Levit recommends focusing on transferable skills that are relevant across a variety of industries and positions. That way, even if you can't use them now, they'll likely come in handy later.

Taking charge of your professional development has become even more important since the recession, because some companies no longer have the funds to help employees grow beyond their basic duties. And since employees tend to have shorter stays with companies than they did years ago, companies may not see the value in training an employee they could lose. Of course, employee-retention experts say that's exactly why companies should offer professional development: because it helps them keep and cultivate their best talent.

"Companies have less resources to do professional development because as they've cut back, everybody's down to muscle and bone," says Rusty Rueff, career and workplace expert at Glassdoor.com, a website that offers insight into careers and companies. "You have to take control of your own development ... and find ways to make it happen."

Here are 10 ways to help yourself grow professionally even without the support of your company:

1. Take a class. Just because you're no longer in school doesn't mean the classroom is off-limits. Plenty of universities offer classes for adults, often in the evening so you can attend around your job schedule. Online classes are another convenient option. Take a class on a topic that's relevant for your job, or learn about something that's totally unrelated for a change of pace. Either way, you're growing, which is the over-arching goal.

2. Teach yourself a skill. You don't always need structure or a class to learn something new. Pinpoint skills that are desirable in your line of work, and start practicing. Website-building or social-media skills are a perfect example, and they're desirable across the board. Jump into a project, and learn the ropes as you go.

3. Volunteer. "Because [nonprofit] organizations are so hungry for hands," Levit says, "you'll get the opportunity to master leadership skills you might not have the chance to practice otherwise." And, she adds, "you'll be doing it in a real-world environment, which makes the experience better than if you, for example, took coursework or training seminars."

4. Master an online tool. Even those of us who organize our lives via digital tools don't always make the most of them. The Web is full of free video tutorials on how to use networks like LinkedIn and Google+, as well as tips on organizing your Gmail life. Think about how you can increase your efficiency, and scour the Internet for resources to help you accomplish that.

5. Seek out people who are on the career path you aspire to. Ask them how they got to where they are. With a little effort on social media, Rueff says, you can easily find out who holds a certain position--or who used to hold it--and reach out to them. Especially if you stroke their ego a bit, people are often happy to talk about the path they took in their career, as well as what worked and what didn't. Learn from their successes and mistakes.

6. Shadow a colleague. Find workers within your company who do something you want to learn, and stop by their office occasionally to ask questions, Rueff suggests. You don't need an official shadowing program to accomplish this, just your own initiative. "You will learn a lot by listening and watching, and a little bit by osmosis," he says.

7. Find a mentor. Take that find-a-successful-person goal one step further and identify someone who's willing to give you guidance and advice. Even if you don't feel comfortable calling that person a mentor, having someone to run ideas by who has more experience than you can go a long way toward helping you make the right decisions. The key here is that they have to have an interest in helping you.

8. Read. Devour books and articles and blogs within your niche, but also pick reads that are outside of your normal professional box, Rueff says. "Read things that are outside of your own industry and experience, and then stop and think about, how can I relate that and apply it to my business?" he says.

9. Attend a conference. Figure out which conference is most worthwhile for people who work in your target industry and go, even if it means using vacation time. Not only will you learn new skills, you'll also make new contacts. Emily Bennington, who helps new college graduates transition from the classroom to the workplace, advises researching who's going and connecting with those people on social media before the event, so you can arrange an in-person meeting and facilitate a stronger connection.

10. Don't neglect your "soft skills." Most of us know our weaknesses, whether we need to be more organized or do a better job of meeting deadlines or simply prioritizing in a smarter way. Putting effort into improving those skills will make you more marketable no matter what field you're in, says Joseph Grenny, an organizational-development expert and co-author of Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success.

"Don't do it for your boss," Grenny says. "You're doing this for you."

DAY 5: 'PLAY FOR GOOD'

I first learned about this newest Facebook game, WeTopia, from Ellen Degeneres on her show last week. I immediately got interested not only because it is an online game but also because it is more than just an online game. I mean, you can have fun while playing the game but at the same time you do something good in the real world. And so I thought to myself,"Why not translate the 'enthusiasm' I once had for CityVille to this one? I'm sure the fun will be twice over."

But as much as I wanted to get myself into this game that very moment, I opted to put it off. And I think I made the right decision for, according to what I've read online, the WeTopia website crashed after thousands of Ellen's fans (most probably) raided the site. Oh my!

I finally tried playing it last night though. I went directly to the website but, of course it is an FB game, so I had to log in to my account. I don't know if it was just because of my internet connection, but it took me forever waiting for the game to load.


Then, I felt my heart skip a beat when the screen finally went--


Just a few seconds into the game (which I forgot to print screen this time), I realized that it highly resembles CityVille (I don't know if they have the same creators though). Just like on CV, your goal here too is to grow your community by building establishments and residences, among many others. In accomplishing this, you will build up joy and from this "joy" you have gleaned, you'll be able to fund programs that help children particularly in Haiti (read: advertisements+FB credits by some players=WeTopia profits/2=monetary donations to nonprofit orgs).

Unfortunately, I did not get to play it that long. It took me four times building just my house as I was repeatedly told to refresh the page. I just settled to give it another try next time.

If you happen to be curious about WeTopia, visit the site here.

DAY 4: KARAOKE FUN TIME

I totally enjoy singing Karaoke songs and belting out my favorites, mostly comprised of those I know my amateurish singing can bear.

Testament to this, going to a KTV is usually a must-do whenever me and my friends go out for get-togethers; it somehow feels incomplete when we fail to do so.

It also serves as one of the key events during our family gatherings, where you can expect an aunt or an uncle telling you, "Oh, mag-praktis ka nang mabuti at nang maisali ka namin sa amateur singing contest sa barangay."

I've been missing doing it lately though, as we don't have a videoke microphone at home, friends are quite busy for get-togethers, and the next family gathering I can most probably attend is our New Year celebration.

There's no use being sad, I know. Because for now I just make do with YouTube's Karaoke videos. What I've posted below are just five of the songs I've made a mental note of, just in case. He he.











Oh, and I just want to say thanks to those who have uploaded these videos!*highfive*

DAY 3: THAT KIND OF LOVE IS...

I may have read all of the four books in the series and have watched the four previous movies that resulted from the franchise (AND may be looking forward to the second part of the latest one), but I DO NOT CONSIDER MYSELF A TWILIGHT SAGA FAN (I do have my own reasons). Yet, I couldn't help but say "WOW" when I first saw this Twilight fanart on this awesome website. And so I thought of sharing it here.



Amazing, huh?

SO LONG, YAHOO! MAIL UPDATES!

In a week's time, Yahoo! Mail Updates users -- including yours truly -- will be saying goodbye to the feature. Yahoo! Mail, however, did not provide an explanation as to why they wanted the Updates tab out. I surmise it's probably because posting status messages on Yahoo! Mail is not as popular as it is on "well-loved" Facebook, and the "share-it-on-Facebook-and-Twitter" option is likewise not well-received. It is also likely that Yahoo! Mail does not want to "compete" with Facebook in that aspect, given that a "tie-up" -- in the form of the 'Quick Reply' service, by which Facebook messages and notifications can be easily replied to -- between them exists. Or maybe, having a status message on Yahoo! Mail is deemed just the same as having one on Yahoo! Messenger and they don't like to be "redundant." Eh?! Well, these are just my two cents' worth. What I'm certain of is that it's going to be pretty odd not to see the Updates button on my Mail page anymore.

WORLD'S LARGEST AND SMALLEST

I was kind of on the prowl for inspirational stuff on the Web yesterday when I stumbled upon these decidedly creative works of art on YouTube. The first is Gulp, a stop-motion short film "depicting a fisherman going about his daily catch." Created by Sumo Science at Aardman, this short was entirely shot using a Nokia N8. It also prides itself as having "the world's largest stop-motion animation set, with the largest scene stretching over 11,000 square feet."

It did not surprise me that the video has so far garnered more than one million hits, but I believe it greatly deserves more than that. Kudos to everyone at Sumo Science for painstakingly producing such amazing work!



And speaking of "amazing," I'm absolutely confident that you too -- therefore chiming with its over two million viewers on YouTube -- will see it evident in Dot, also by Sumo Science. If Gulp has "the largest," then Dot has "the smallest stop-motion animation character." It features a 9mm girl named Dot "as she struggles through a microscopic world." And just like Gulp, this film was shot using a Nokia N8 and with the aid of so-called CellScope technology to capture the minuscule details.

Dot amusingly has this video game feel to it. It's like you control Dot as she escapes "the encroaching wave of destruction," leading her through the path made up of tiny objects such as buttons, coins, pens, pins, nuts and bolts, and finally making her take on what is going after her by turning it into a cozy blanket.



And so I must say that Gulp and Dot are truly entertaining. Are they Nokia commercials, you ask? Oh, I totally forgot about that!

FEELING THE JOY ONE FOLD AT A TIME

First off, I wanna thank my best chum Joja for telling me about origami-instructions.com, which apparently is the coolest site for origami enthusiasts. What makes it awesome -- aside from having a good deal of instructions on "how to make many kinds of neat and ingenious items" -- is the way it presents these instructions. They are easy to follow because the folding process is shown with an actual paper and not just diagrams, which are usually seen in origami books. It also invites readers to submit photos of their origamis created based on those featured in the site. And so after making some, I decided to submit the photo of my orange origami owl. Though it was not chosen, a thank-you email was still sent to me. Nice! Big thanks to you too, Andy!

R.I.P. STEVE JOBS AND THANK YOU

I have always looked up to Steve Jobs, the "greatest computing technology maverick" in my book. That is why I felt like I lost another of my "Ernie Baron" and "Tiya Dely" when I initially learned from Yahoo! a few hours ago that Jobs, after fighting his disease for quite some time, succumbed to cancer today. I'm so sad. He was only 56.

It was probably three years ago when I, through Pinoywap (a mobile interactive community), happened on this commencement speech delivered by Jobs at Stanford University in June 2005. I remember being moved and inspired after reading it; it's definitely one of the best addresses one could ever know of. I even had his speech's farewell message "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish" posted as my Friendster shout-out for a long time.

So I'm sharing the said speech with you guys. I got this transcript from this site this time. It's quite long, but it's really really worth reading.


I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” They said: “Of course.” My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn’t interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn’t all romantic. I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down – that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now.

This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960′s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.


Same to you, Steve Jobs!

(Image from apple.com)

PFUI! I'M ALWAYS LATE!

...even when it comes to signing up for the "early" registration on Pottermore! Hi hi. I just tried to do so yesterday because I wasn't aware of the site's so-called "limited beta release," which ended on the 6th of August. Yeah I know I was way too late! I still have to wait until the end of this month for the public registration. That's just less than two weeks from now, so I guess I can put up with the wait. See you there!

ALWAYS REMEMBERED

Today, America and the rest of the world are remembering the 10th anniversary of 9/11 with various activities, most of which are focused on honoring the 3,000-odd victims and heroes of the terrorist attack.

LIFE.com, which "represents the most amazing collection of professional photography on the Web," shares its piece of the commemoration pie by presenting 9/11: The 25 Most Powerful Photos – "25 most stirring, visceral photographs from that day...from the likes of James Nachtwey, Joe Raedle, Spencer Platt, Mario Tama, and other celebrated photojournalists (and one intrepid amateur)." And indeed they are "the pictures we remember: wrenching, indelible photographs that tell the tale of a still-resonant late summer day that changed everything."

One of them though really made me teary-eyed. The pain felt by the man in the picture is so palpable.

MAKIKIGAYA NA RIN: MY TAKE ON JAMES SORIANO'S CONTROVERSIAL ESSAY

Discussions over this essay by James Soriano entitled Language, learning, identity, privilege are ongoing on Facebook and other sites. At bilang tutulog-tulog sa pansitan, siyempre ako ay huli sa balita. Gayunpaman, naisip kong it was just another "talk of the town" at malamang lilipas din agad, kaya naman nakuntento na lamang akong i-click ang 'Like' sa isang stat re this, tulad ng madalas kong gawin kapag wala talaga akong masabi. Ni hindi rin ako naglaan ng oras para basahin ang sanaysay na 'yon noon, kahit na puro links niya at mga status ng FB friends ko about dito ang nakabalandra sa wall ko. Pero sa paglipas ng mga araw, lalo pang dumami ang links at lalo ring naging participative ang mga FB friend ko. Malamang seryoso, napag-isip-isip ko, dapat ko nang mabasa ang isang 'to kung ganun. Aba eh, seryoso nga! Kaya naman pala "nag-init" ang ulo ng ilan.

Medyo napataas din naman ang kilay ko, biruin mo eh hindi ko nga kayang gawin yun . May punto naman siya kung tutuusin, and we can't deny that. Malaki naman talaga ang papel ng ingles sa pagkatuto natin. Hindi man siguro lahat, pero karamihan sa atin eh nauna pang namulat sa "abcd" kaysa sa "abakada" noong nagsisimula na tayong "matuto." Pero hindi sapat ang mga dahilang tulad niyan, at walang sasapat kahit kailan, para tawaging "Filipino is not the language of the learned... Filipino was a chore, like washing the dishes; it was not the language of learning."

Kakatawang isipin na ang Filipino raw ay "language of the world outside... required to survive in the outside world." Hindi ba lahat naman tayo ay kumikilos sa outside world? Kakatakot isiping may sariling mundo pala ang ilan. Gayunpaman, bumalik din sa normal niyang ayos ang kilay ko nang aminin niyang isa marahil siyang "rotten fish." Alam din naman pala niya.

Napag-isip-isip ko tuloy, eh bakit ako rin naman eh halos mamilipit na ang utak kaka-ingles sa blog na 'to? Malansa na rin ba akong isda? Malamang. Ang lenggwaheng naging dahilan ng mangilan-ngilang mga papuri sa akin nung high school eh hindi siyang gamit ko rito. But I'm not in high school anymore. Ang totoo nang tumuntong ako ng kolehiyo, naging isang challenge sa akin ang pagsusulat sa ingles, higit lalo na ang maging articulate dito. Though I eventually got the hang of it, ika ba eh "learned the ropes." Well, hindi pa rin talaga siguro. Dahil second-language learner lang naman ako ng ingles. Hindi natural ang dating niya sa akin. Ito ang rason kung ba't ako may blog na nasa English.

Hindi ko 'to sinasabi bilang pagdepensa, nguni't bilang pagpapaalala sa sarili ko na kaya ako natutong mag-ingles ay dahil na rin sa pagiging bihasa ko sa Filipino. At maging magaling man ako sa ingles o hindi, matuto man akong mag-pranses o chinese o german man, alam kong babalik at babalik ako sa'king "dila." Ganun ka rin naman eh, Mr. Soriano.

THE 'BUZZ' IS THAT THERE 'WOODY' BE TOY STORY 4!

It is one of the trending topics on Yahoo! for today. From what I've read, it was Tom Hanks himself — the voice behind the animated film's lead Woody — who revealed in an interview with BBC that the fourth instalment is now in the works, though he did not provide specific details. Disney has not likewise confirmed it.

Being an avid fan of Toy Story movie series, I was like literally jumping for joy upon reading several "Toy Story 4" articles already circulating on the web. And I do hope it's true. Well, I guess it is not impossible, given that the first three films amassed an upwards of $1.5 billion in revenues worldwide. And if it's really gonna push through, by hook or by crook I'm gonna see it in 3D this time.


Thinking-out-of-the-box Disney Pictures released Toy Story 3 in 3D in June last year.

(Image from here.)

GOOGLE DOODLES

I so love the Google logo for today!



Been noticing it, but it's just today that I'm finally overtaken by this rather every-few-days change in Google logo's appearance. It's actually Google's way of being one with diverse holidays and celebrations the world over, I just found out earlier. Checking out Google logos' site could be fun if you're also into doodling like me, and perhaps even when you're not.