"Miracles"

This mash-up is going viral on Tumblr, and out of curiosity I listened to it. And I have to say, it's an amazing mash-up of the following songs:

1. Bruno Mars — Just The Way You Are
2. B.O.B. feat. Bruno Mars — Nothing On You
3. Gnarls Barkley — Crazy
4. Britney Spears — Hit Me, Baby, One More Time
5. Jason Derulo — In My Head
6. Justin Timberlake — My Love
7. Lady Gaga — Just Dance
8. Leona Lewis — Bleeding Love
9. Ne-Yo — So Sick
10. Michael Jackson — Black Or White
11. Snoop Dogg — Sexual Eruption
12. Survivor — Eye Of The Tiger
13. Taylor Swift — Fifteen
14. Taylor Swift — Fearless
15. Savage Garden — The Animal Song
16. Snoop Dogg feat. Justin Timberlake — Signs

Whoever made this mash-up is nothing short of genius. I applaud that person.

Creativity: Not Meant to be Forced

These past nights I've been forcing myself to get my writing creativity going now that I am working on my essay compilation (watch out, world). 

Well, that turned out to be a bad idea since art mustn't be forced. Besides, if truth be told, I honestly have nothing to write about. On the other hand, I do have a lot to read. A LOT. And so I figured I'd just read and read while I have nothing to write and write. There are only a few days left in my sem break so I may as well spend my free time reading.

Come second semester I'll have plenty to write about. I'm pretty sure there will be plenty for me write about anyway. New, possibly memorable, experiences will inevitably come and I'm going to have to write about them. In the meantime, I'll just read about Robert Langdon, English literature, and whatever tickles my reading fancy.

Giving a Soldier The Finger is NOT Cool

Boys and girls, giving someone the finger is not cool. What's even more uncool is giving the finger to strangers while riding on a moving vehicle... and being caught by an enraged military man.

That's the unfortunate fate of two juvenile boys sitting across each other at the jeepney (one of whom was seated next to me) this afternoon. Like most boys their age, these two felt like fooling around. Their choice of stupid gimmick: giving the finger to while the jeepney strode past La Trinidad. And then unexpectedly, when one of the passengers got off the jeep, an enraged military man confronted the two young boys. He angrily asked the two of they thought it was okay or cool to give the finger as if the act was not going to offend anyone. Did they think that by raising the finger they were above everyone else? 

The wrath of the soldier frightened me a little, I must admit, but I'm on his side. Giving someone the finger is a juvenile, offensive (that goes without saying) act, and those two kids should know just that. I get the solider's point of feeling offended - he even said something about how he came all the way from Mindanao (it's a place in the Philippines where it's almost like Iraq or Afghanistan, i.e. almost a war zone with the clashes of extreme leftists and the army) and then he gets here only to be given the finger to. By the sound of that, the solider (and any soldier for that matter) was not to be messed with. The last thing the soldier said could have made the two young boys wet or crap their pants: that the soldier could easily kill them (savagely) if they ever do again what they were doing.

Personally, I don't blame the soldier for feeling enraged. I mean, here are two young kids giving an obscene gesture to strangers - who are teaching these kids what's right and wrong? It's unbelievable how young kids are exposed to such obscenity and nobody tells them to stop or to not ever do it again.

Stories of The Semester: Being a Part of Something... Doesn't Always Have Feel-Good Times

For the first time since my senior year in high school I am part of a school publication. The only difference is there's a LOT more pressure I feel now than I did three years ago.

The story starts out with a spontaneous idea to try out as a staff writer after I heard about the screening for our college publication. I went in, did some writing, and tried not to keep my hopes up. A few weeks later I received a text message that said I made it as a staff writer. The excitement upon reading the message is one of the highlights of my year. I was excited about the idea of writing articles, getting to work with other talented campus journalists, etc.

But I didn't count on one important variable: the seriousness involved when it comes to business. And business requires a lot of hard work and commitment, a couple of things that aren't exactly my forte. As a result, I was so overwhelmed when I couldn't handle some of the things that were my responsibility. There were even these incidents where I said I would attend an event, but I wouldn't show up because I'm either too lazy or I got something else going on, like school work. Long story short, I probably pissed off some people along the way.

I acknowledge my irresponsibility in both incidents and from now I will avoid a "three-peat" of disappointment and irresponsibility. I now realize that I am an adult whose actions have consequences. In the real world, my actions would have cost me my job so I ought to avoid travelling the road of Laziness.

My future in the publication looks a little bleak, after those incidents. But I shouldn't worry so much about it, though. Whatever happens, happens... and I'll just have to meet with it when it does.

Stories of The Semester: Engl14 - Principles and Procedures of Parliamentary

This subject is quite an interesting one. Prior to the start of the semester I was a bit curious as to what goes on in this subject. I figured a little that some debating is involved, so I was excited at the thought.

But came the actual time of the subject, as the semester started. Yes, Parliamentary Procedure involved debates, but not entirely. Parliamentary Procedure applies to government proceeding, company meetings, etc. It was a technical subject with so much rules that I personally didn't want to keep up with.

Another reason why I probably didn't enjoy the subject that much is the amount of group work that was a "make or break" when it came to my grades. I'm not usually excited when it comes to group work. A group is only as strong as its weakest member and that was a little bit the case in the group I was in. Some members lacked initiative and depended on the people known to be "the responsible ones."

But we managed to pull off some team work when our determination to pass the course kicked in. Eventually I learned to take it easy and keep the faith that I'm going to pass the subject.

As for now, though, I'm glad the semester's over and that I've gotten away from the course.Oh, let's just say that Parliamentary Procedure just isn't my "thing."