Noise is a “silent” killer…

Sumasakit na ang tenga ko kakagamit ng headphone.

Headphone sa trabaho (dahil ang latest project ko ay mag-accumulate ng mga voice over sound clips para sa animation ng Noli at El Fili).
Headphone habang nagko-commute (ang ingay kasi ng traffick — hala! sigaw ng barker, busina ng mga sasakyan, kahol ng mga aso, atbp.).
Headphone sa kama (para makatulog — sobrang kaantok kasi ang soundtrack ng 神鵰俠侶 2006).

I realized later na naapektuhan na ng noise pollution ang normal brain functions ko.

Noise, unlike music, is unwanted sound.

Noise is recognized  by the World Health Organization as one of the serious health problems of the present world.
It tremendously affect our physical and mental performance; hence, it poses threat to our overall health condition.

Most people can’t learn in a noisy environment.
Moreover, it is hard to sleep whenever our praning neighbor disturbs the peace of the night by shouting “Sinong siga rito?!”
Oh, one of the most unfortunate things in my life is that I was raised in a place where there are numerous barbaric people who won’t let you die without hearing their damnable voices.

But the worst effect noise had in me is the distraction in my short-term memory.

Andami ko nang nalilimutan!…
Last weekend, hindi ko na mai-type sa keypad ng cp ko ang PIN ng aking SIM na lagi ko namang ginagawa… na-blocked tuloy.
Naiwanan ko sa computer shop yung USB Flash Drive na naglalaman ng pinakatatago kong mga dokumento… nanakaw tuloy.
Naiwanan ko ang jacket ko na halos lagi kong kasama sa upuan ko sa trabaho.
Bago pumasok sa trabaho, naiwanan ko naman sa bahay ang isa pang bagay na nalimutan ko na…

Hirap netoH!

Noise gives stress on the brain indeed!

According to Robert Koch, a Nobel Prize Winner German bacteriologist, “A day will come man have to fight merciless noise as the worst enemy of health.”

Noise, indeed, is a killer… a noisy killer so silent that we do not notice how it slowly cramples our lives.

Hayyy…
If this condition will persist, I might as well forget the things I have learned about GenEd, ProfEd, & Social Sciences…

—

Take a glance into Dhananjay K. Parbat’s Assessment and ANN Modeling of Noise Levels at Major Road Intersections in an Indian Intermediate City at
http://www.ejournals.ph.

Doubt me this time! =0

Some people do blogging because it’s one of their hobbies…
Some people, on the other hand, do it because they get bored out of doing nothing…
Some people blog simply because they have the time…
And some people blog because they get money from it…

Bahala sila, ako nagba-blog for 3 reasons…

(1) It’s one of my means for self-expression…
(2) I want to share knowledge and information and connect with other people… and
(3) I was required in my job to do it…

Sometimes, I am extremely energetic…
Sometimes, I am hibernating…
Sometimes, I feel motivated to go the extra-mile…
And sometimes, I ask, “What’s the sense of doing that?”

Everyone has his/her own ups and downs… Sa akin, most of the time, it depends on the climate…

(1) ‘Pag summer, gustung-gusto kong mag-set  ng mga goals at kumilos sa ikatutupad ng mga ito…
(2) ‘Pag tag-ulan at taglamig, I feel so down na para bang ayoko nang bumalikwas pa mula sa higaan kong tabla…
(3) ‘Pag ganitong hindi naman maulan, maaraw, o malamig… Oh, I love Philippine springtime!…  Angsarap mabuhay!… I feel so carefree…

At dahil diyan, ipo-postpone ko na muna ang pagti-take ko ng LET this April para bigyang panahon ang ilang bagay na gusto kong gawin, mga hilig na paminsan-minsan lang dumarating…

At ang aking latest hilig?… Ipagpatuloy ang pag-aaral ng Asian languages… Naalala ko, matagal na rin pala ang panahong lumipas mula nang huli akong magpaturo ng Korean kay Joseph… After 3 years, eto ako, hindi na makapagbasa ng hangul… Hindi na rin ako interesado sa wika ng mga Han-guk-in na yon…

Ang gusto kong pag-aralan ay ang wika ng mga Han… anupat ang paborito kong manunulat ay isang Intsik… Nakakalungkot na bagamat si Jin Yong ang pinakahinahangaan kong nobelista ay hindi ko mabasa ang kanyang mga aklat kung hindi isasalin sa Ingles… Of course, translation won’t contain the original meaning and the culture behind a piece of literature…

As you learn a language, you learn a culture… Sawa na ako sa wika at kulturang Ingles, na siya mong maa-assimilate as you read an English translation of an oriental literature… Hindi mo ma-gets? I-search mo sa PEJ at basahin ang research ni Marjorie Evaso (IDEYA, Vol 2 No 1 [2009]) nang maintindihan mo… Hindi puwedeng mag-rely na lamang sa mga translation ano!…

Kinakailangan kong matuto ng 40,000 Chinese ideographs para maunawaan ang panitikang Tsino. Quite challenging… Kaya yan!…

Mag-aaral ako ng Zhōngwén at ita-translate ko ang Condor Trilogy sa Filipino… Mag-aaral ako to sawa =P… Saka na ako magti-take ng LET… kapag bumalik na ang highly ambitious na bahagi ng aking pagkatao…

WaahH! =D

Reviewing the “scary” Social Sciences…

Congratulations to me! I’m now on the Social Sciences subject area…
Honestly, it’s very frightening. Supposedly, I had already finished reviewing this subject on the first week of December 2009.
Then right now, I must have already finished reviewing around 7 subjects, but I’m moving on very slowly. It seems that I’m already on the brink that is closest to failure…

But I have to keep going on…
Speaking of the Social Sciences, it comprises something like 4% of the total coverage of the licensure exam.
In fact, it’s my major…

I have to admit that when I was in college, one of my academic weaknesses is objective types of test.
In spite of this, I still was able to earn an honor that many college students are dreaming of.
Thanks to many of my professors who preferred to evaluate our performance by several means other than the usual “objective” sort of  exams.

Most of the students in my college know me as one of their best BSE Major in Social Studies students.
Other students imagine it as a frightening field as they were previously conditioned to perceive Araling Panlipunan as plainly memorization of boring facts like names, dates, and places.
If that ever happened, I guess I must have failed college.
Fortunately, we studied Social Sciences not through a shallow knowledge level of cognitive skills but through the higher order thinking skills…
With this, I’ve been somewhat successful. =D

The upcoming licensure examination frightens me because, as most of us know, it’s basically a multiple choice type. The makers of it may have modified it to appear that it generates higher order thinking skills but I still expect that little of it were done in the General Education subject areas.
With the very small time I have, I can’t think of the best way to insert all those neverending names of persons, places, concepts, processes, etc.
Well, that’s how the standardized licensure exam works…

—

PEJ has published online an interesting journal that may be of help for those of you who are Social Science teachers.

Deadline for LET Registration: February 12, 2010

It has been a busy holiday season. I’d been consumed with many other interests. This project blog has been inactive for a while. Now I’m back.

To tell you honestly, I thought about putting off taking the licensure exam for another half year. I’d been preoccupied with a lot of things that I set aside the schedule for the LET review a lot of times. Hence, I lack sufficient time right now. Aside from that, I found out that studying for the competencies of the licensure exam must take longer time than what I had assumed.

But I already made the decision. No matter what happens, I have to take the exam by April.

Just an announcement, the deadline for LET registration set by the PRC is on the 12^th of February. Check out this document…

Schedule of Licensure Examinations for year 2010 and Deadline in Filing of Applications

The filing of applications may have started earlier. Too bad we did not receive any announcement. The examination is scheduled by PRC on April 18, 2010. A bit early.

You may click here for the list of requirements. Bring them early to the PRC office nearest you.

I still lack the pertinent review materials. Just to beat the time constraints, I tried to keep in touch with the global learner side of my personality by utilizing an MP3 player so I can just record my voice whenever I find time to review and then play the .wav files during the other parts of the day when my mind feels comfortable enough to listen.

I hope, this piece of technology will work. I specifically use it when I’m on the bus and/or MRT.

Aynaku! Ang “ay” eh ‘asan?

If you haven’t seen my Top the LET project schedule yet, you may click on this link to direct you to the page.

BTW, I have just finished my LET review on Filipino. The first among the LET competencies for this subject area is to –

Use Filipino language correctly

Speaking of the correct use of language, what I had in mind was Grammar or “Balarila” in Filipino. Let’s just have a refresh of knowledge on Balarila.

Balarila

Etymology: bala ng dila
Definition: kaalaman hinggil sa mga salita, parirala, sugnay at mga pangungusap na nagtuturo ng wastong kabalangkasan, palakahuluganan, palabigkasan, at palaugatan ng mga salita
Synonym: gramatika o palatuntunan ng wika
Scope:
morpolohiya – pagsusuri sa pakakabalangkas ng mga salita
sintaks – pagsasaayos upang ang mga salita ay maging makabuluhang mga pangungusap
ponolohiya – wastong pagbigkas
semantika – kahulugan ng mga salita at parirala
etimolohiya – palaugatan ng mga salita

To cut the story, I restudied basic Filipino, things that every Juan de la Cruz must have learned in primary school like gamit ng “nang” at “ng”; “may” at “mayroon”; “ito”, “nito”, at “dito”; gitling (-); mga pang-ugnay; ang “d” na nagiging “r”; ang “o” na nagiging “u”; ang pantukoy na “ay”; and so on.

Majority of educated Filipinos, I guess, take our own rules of language for granted. It is indeed funny to observe how most of us desperately examine and correct one’s English grammar, but do not attempt to correct one’s balarila.

Well, enough of that… I just want to mention one thing I’ve realized when I studied such mga panuntunan ng wika…

You may not agree but I’ve noticed that most Filipinos I’ve encountered fail to use the article “ay” in spoken language. We are all aware of the “ay” and its importance in our sentences. It is very common in technical documents, literary pieces, and ¿public speaking? but it seems that many people avoid using this orally. Just take a look at these common expressions…

I am not sure if it has something to do with the difference between passive and active sentences. But I rarely observe Filipino sentences that can be characterized concretely as passive.

It may be too late for me to become aware of the way I speak… I don’t know why but it seems too awkward for me to use “ay” in speaking. I prefer to use “eh” instead, hehe…

Well, that’s it!

~

You may want to check out a research journal published in Filipino. Visit

MALAY

Isang national refereed jornal na multi-disiplinari sa Filipino na nagtatampok ng mga papel, riserts, at artikulong naglalahad ng mga kaisipan at kaalaman mula sa iba’t-ibang disiplina

http://www.ejournals.ph

Top the LET Project Schedule

I’ve been a little busy the past few days –

And I wasn’t able to update this site for almost a week…

BTW, as what I promised, I’m now posting my flexible Top the LET Project Schedule.. I call it flexible because I will make changes every so often… =D

I encourage you guys to use this as a guide in making your own project schedule. As what an unknown author once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”

As you write down your project plan, you’re setting down a good start.. It motivates you as it shows how serious you are with your aim.. Moreover, it provides you with a visible account to track your progress…

That’s it for now…

Just click on the image to direct you to a separate window that displays the file in a larger view…

I wish it will be able to help you again this time…

XOXO… Happy LET review!… =D

Ilang dapat isaisip sa pagsasariling-sikap…

Sa maraming magti-take ng LET, ang mga ito ay maaaring hindi niyo na kailangan pang gawin. Ngunit sa ibang kursong humihingi ng board exam, upang makapasa ay kinukonsider pa ng mga examinees (lalo na iyong mga nasa malalayong lugar) na mag-enroll sa mga review centers na nasa mga pangunahing lungsod o pangunahing unibersidad.

Sigurista, may pera, at lubhang seryoso na makapasa sa licensure exam ang mga taong ito… Lumuluwas pa man din mula sa kani-kanilang mga pook patungong Maynila o Cebu o saanmang may mapagtitiwalaang review center at pansamantalang mananatili roon upang tutukan ang kanilang pagbabalik-aral.

Bago makapanatili nang matagal sa lungsod ay kailangan mo munang humanap ng matitirhan.. Dito nagkakaroon ng halaga ang mga boarding houses. Ang isang boarding house ay kadalasang nag-aalok ng mga paupahang silid at higaan sa mga taong nangingibang-pook o mga madalas bumiyahe. Tanging ang silid lamang ang nirerentahan anupat ang kusina at ang paliguan o palikuran ay pagsasaluhan mo at ng iba pang boarders..

Sa Maynila ako nakadestino at sa bawat araw ng trabaho ay kailangan kong bumiyahe nang mahigit 4 na oras pagpasok at pag-uwi. Kung ang mga oras na iyon sa halip na iupo ko sa MRT at bus ay gugulin ko na lamang sa pagri-review, higit pang magkakaroon ng kabuluhan sa akin. Bukod dito, ang trapik, usok, at ingay na hatid ng biyahe ay nakapagpapahina ng katawan.. Kailangan ko na ngang humanap ng matitirhan sa Maynila…

Anu-ano nga ba ang mga dapat isaalang-alang sa pagpili ng matinong boarding house?

Para sa kapakinabangan ko at ninyong mga naghahanap ng pansamantalang matutuluyan ay gumawa ako ng mga hakbang at tseklist na maaaring gamiting batayan upang makatiyak na maayos ang boarding house na lilipatan..

Mga Hakbang sa Paghahanap ng Boarding House

1. Sa simula ay maglista ka ng maraming boarding house na mapagpipilian.
2. Kontakin mo ang mga ito isa-isa.
3. Tanungin ang may-ari kung magkano mangupahan sa kanilang boarding house. Alamin kung sapat ba ang iyong badyet. Humingi ng diskwento.
4. Pansinin kung paano kang pakitunguhan ng iyong makakausap anupat ito ang magiging batayan mo ng magiging pakikitungo nila sa iyo sa hinaharap.
5. Pakiramdaman ang iyong instinct at alamin kung saan ka palagay sa iyong mga pinagpipilian.
6. Personal na bisitahin ang boarding house.

Tseklist sa Pagpili ng Boarding House

Nawa’y makatulong ito nang malaki sa atin guys…

Bueno, maalala ko ang kaibigan kong humiwalay sa kanyang mga magulang upang sikaping mabuhay sa ganang sarili niya. Nang mga panahong naghahanap siya ng matitirhan ay bukambibig niya na siya ay “magsasariling-sikap”.. ideolekto niya sa pagiging independent… Noong una’y natawa ako ngunit siya na ring katagang ginagamit ko ngayon…

Maligayang pagsasariling-sikap! =D

~

Something strange with this post?

Yeah, I wrote it in Filipino.. the language of my heart.. =D

Would you like to view a journal that promotes the use of Filipino in the academe?

Visit MALAY

http://ejournals.com.ph/

What you’d learned in college determines your success…

I am indeed happy that many of my former classmates were able to pass the recently-held licensure exam. To celebrate this occasion, one had arranged a party and I was invited. =D

So after going to church yesterday, I went to Molino in Cavite to have fun with them. Several months after our graduation day, nothing seemed to have changed much. They are still the same noisy and hilarious friends I once had.

There were kainan, kwentuhan, tawanan… typical of our unique Pinoy culture where every single event calls for costly treats and a merry celebration…

To learn more about contemporary Filipino culture, check out the Asia-Pacific Social Science Review

http://www.ejournals.ph

I met a friend who, instead of pursuing teaching, has ventured on modeling as a career. He taught me several things of the elite, from diet to drinking vodka. =P

Speaking of the licensure exam, I was told that LET review classes did little help to my former classmates. It is still what you had learned in college that determines your chance to pass the exam.

After the party, I asked the host to lend me her LET reviewers which she happily gave me. It was a bag full of highly valuable scratch hand-outs. =D

I am going to collect more reviewers. I just don’t know how to find them. Mind helping me guys? =D

~

I am sick right now. It feels terrible.  My thinking processes are barren.

I hate this! A healthy mental condition is necessary to retain information from our timetabled LET review sessions.

If it won’t cease till tomorrow, I will have to file a sick leave for a day or two.

Need rest and healthy foods.. also, a Sabbath day but I can’t rest at home… Housemates are too noisy…Hayyyyy…

Want to teach in Cavite State University?

The Dean of Cavite State University’s (CvSU) College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), Dr. Evelyn Singson, called me last week then asked me to spread this message:

“Gud pm. Pls help me. I am looking 4 an English teacher of ur caliber n its urgent. We will conduct an interview n demo teaching on Monday. Pls circulate. Tnx much. God bless”

Too bad, I already have a job right now. Worse, I like my job that much! =D

Reminiscing my job hunting days (well that was about 9 months ago =D), I remember that working as an instructor in this university was my leading professional target.

It’s a notable state university located in the scenic town of Indang, Cavite. Perfect for a nature-lover like me!

As far as I knew, one who has their regular loads has to stay at work only for 5 days a week, 8 AM to 5 PM..

Moreover, a starting salary of 13K PhP a month, I thought, would already suffice for a typical lifestyle of a professional in the province…

Good enough for a “promising” fresh-graduate… =P

So I submitted my application and attended the interview for a Social Science instructor. Compared to the other applicants, the panel had been nice to me. I’d thought I was already hired but it turned out.. I was not meant for the job…

I am not sure of that “caliber” thing in the text message, hehe.. but I believe one of you fellas fits the job more than I…

If they will ask you of your referral, just state my name…

Please circulate… Godbless!

Top the LET the Manny Pacquiao way…

One of the outstanding living Filipinos I highly admire is the renowned boxer Manny Pacquiao…

Though stating him in this blog may not have any connection with the LET, I would share his characteristic that, I believe, has placed him on his current pedestal.

Everytime he’s about to enter the boxing ring, he never forgets to utter a silent prayer.

Unusual it might be to the alien’s eye, this trait is not out of Filipino character.  Religiousity and faith to God is an evident Filipino trait. We are proud to be known worldwide as a people who has strong faith in God.

When asked about the secrets of his success, the 2007 Bar Topnotcher, Noel Neil Malimban  [who is a native of the Cordillera], revealed that it was lots of prayers that made him top the “hardest” examinations in the country.

Prayer indeed is powerful.  There were already a number of scientific researches on the power of prayer proving the existence of a Higher Being and that humans have the ability to communicate with Him.

Referring to David, the prophet Samuel said,…

“In everything he did he had great success, because the LORD was with him.” (1 Sam. 18:14)

In order to be the next successful licensure examinees, let’s  all ask for the Divine Will to aid us in our preparations.

~

*.’  We are going to be educators guys! Instead of striving to be mere licensed professional teacher, why not try to be a professional Christian educator?

It sounds and means better right? =)

This zealous Christian educator is a humble teacher who embraces faith to God in his/her class.  He/she has to lead a worthy Christian life and is to see himself/herself as continuing the work done by Jesus Christ himself..

“Educating,” according to Pope Benedict XVI, is to rediscover in God the meaning of . . . existence…

In order to be successful, this educator has to be a man of prayers.. Saint La Salle said that only then could he achieve the important task God had entrusted him.

From IDEYA: Journal of the Humanities Vol 8, No 2 (2007)

St. John Baptist de La Salle on the Zeal of the Christian Educator

http://www.ejournals.ph