OSONINJA

What's Your Favorite Animated Series during your Childhood?

2010-12-01T05:45:00.000-08:00

I was born in 1987 (oops, you do the math!) and I'm pretty proud of my generation, which I call the "Kids of 90s".

It was a happy childhood for me. It was the time when rivers were still safe to bathe and clean to wash your laundry (We used to wash our laundry in the rivers with my Lola every Saturdays during summer).

It was the time when people were not fixated with their social media sites, or not even knowledgeable of what a personal computer is. Computers, back then, seemed to be an abstract idea -- a thing I only hear when I'm watching UltraMan, or Power Rangers.

For me, it was the time of the Golden Age of Cartoons in the Philippines. (quote me on that, please.)

I swear. The 8:00-10:00 AM and 3:00-5:00 PM during weekdays and weekends were my most cherished time. I skipped the routinely visits to my Lola's house every weekend mornings just to watch my fave cartoons. I just can't miss the weekly episode of Magic Knight Rayearth!

And every weekend afternoons, I rushed my self from school to catch The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Zenki. It was just frustrating if you'd arrive at the house with the episodes running already in half because your one of the Monday cleaners.

Plus, every Xmas break, we'd have the chance to watch the cartoons airing during mornings, the ones we won't watch unless we would absent from our classes.

I'd stand firmly with my previous statement that the 90s is the Golden Age of Cartoons in the Philippines. No Animax yet, or Cartoon Network, or Disney Channel. What you have were Channel 2, 7, 13 (of course!), 5, and 9.

I like the cartoons being aired during that time. They're clean, in a sense they were not that violent, and instill values in kids. Plus, I feel like we had free Literature class -- Daddy Longlegs, Huckleberry Finn, Mary and the Secret Garden (one of my favorites), The Three Musketeers, Les Miserables, plus Grimm's fairytales.

Those cartoons made me like fiction and stories and write and watch more.

The Limitations of Free Blogging Services (such as Blogger and Wordpress) and When is the Right Time to Upgrade them

2010-11-12T18:51:00.000-08:00

I recently decided to revive my blog in Blogger. My last post was last year, and I was pretty amazed how the features of Blogger have improved.

One of the things that I like is the “Template Design” feature. Templates are pouring and I can have all the control that I want regarding the layout, colors, font, etc. of my blog. Everything about its appearance.

Just when I thought Blogger can provide what I plan to do with my site, I realized its very limited. And so I tried using the free blog services being provided by WordPress.

But whoa! They’re the same.

So these are the things that I think I might share to you: the limitations of free blogging services such as the two I mentioned above.

Number 1: You do not have an FTP account.

FTP or File Transfer Protocol account is used so you can upload files to your website. These files might be templates, plugins, modules, images, etc. You can gain an FTP account only if your site is being hosted. That means, you should have a hosting company, whether for free or not.

Well, you can say that having a blog in WordPress or Blogger means your site is being hosted already. That is true, clearly because you are using the domain names .blogpot.com( for Blogger) and .wordpress.com (for WP) for the name of your site. In my case, my domain name is kimchiranger.wordpress.com.

However, when you sign-up and start posting, you actually miss some things that eventually you’ll think are necessary to optimize your site’s functionalities.

My classic example: The menu for WordPress and the Pages for Blogger.

What I really want for my blog is to create menu items with submenu or child items. And I specifically want it to be a drop-down menu.

I can create menu items for my site, the problem is I cannot have the dropdown menu. In WordPress, I have to install this plugin. In Blogger, well, I think drop-down menus aren’t supported yet.

Limitation #2: You can’t just demand.

Expect your site to be at the bottom of their priority list, alongside with other sites which they host for free in a single server.

Low bandwidth, limited disk space, and little support are some of the things you will encounter.

You cannot just demand for more control of your site. After all , they’re the ones giving us a favor. And you can’t blame them if you cannot get what you want for your site because we are just using it for free.

Limitation #3: Your free blog is bad for SEO.

Search engine optimization is the process where you work to make your site more searchable by search engines such as Google and Yahoo. They index your site through your domain name’s DNS hierarchy, meaning, they look at your web address and translate it to binary codes they can read.

Search engines breaks down your web address and assign an order of importance for it. For example, my web address is www.ilovetoblog.wordpress.com. Here what happens when a search engine crawl into your site:

TOP LEVEL NAME = .com

2nd LEVEL NAME = .wordpress

3rd LEVEL NAME = www

4th LEVEL NAME = ilovetoblog

You see, your site’s name will be given the lowest order of priority when search engines crawl your site. What you are doing is simply giving WordPress a favor so it can be indexed first before yours.

So when is the right time to upgrade your free blog?

My suggestion is that you identify first the nature of your blog.

Clearly, if its for business use, then you have to shift from free to paid web hosting. But what’s better and I strongly suggest is to avail your own domain name and hosting company even before you start building your site.

If however you cannot afford yet to pay, try to save and quickly upgrade from free blog softwares the soonest you got some money. This saves you from the hassle of all of your site’s inputs going to waste. The common mistake of some bloggers is that they settle for the free blog services for their businesses and totally ignore upgrading their sites because they think their business is not that big yet. But when the time comes they realize their site have grown and free blogging services are limiting the business’ growth, they can’t simply move their own domain and hosting company. It’s because the site’s web address have been linked already to other websites or has a high ranking on search engine. The bottomline line is that you may lose everything you have done when you move to paid hosting and domain name.

Now, if you decided that your blog is for personal use only, then you might consider sticking to Blogger or WordPress. Just remember that you still have some limitations that you might get rid of if you also wish your personal blog to have its own you domain name and hosting.

For Tita Cory

2009-08-06T22:59:00.001-07:00

I'd like to thank you and the entire Aquino family. I was once a recipient of your Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Foundation, receiving P4,000.00 every sem. It was a great help for me to finish my studies. I never had the chance to extend my thanks to you personally, but I'll be forever thankful to you.

Dare to Become a Virtual Assistant and Get Your Ideal Job

2009-08-02T01:00:00.000-07:00

Stable. Accessible. High-paying. Three adjectives usually used to describe our ideal jobs. Unfortunately, we only get two out of these three or worse, none at all.

But because of the power of the Internet, achieving our ideal jobs is no longer impossible. Having a stable, accessible, and high-paying job is just a click away.

In Hireyourvirtualassistant.com, you are given the opportunity to achieve the three adjectives of your ideal job by becoming a virtual assistant. Your job is to assist the client on certain tasks he is going to assign to you. Basically, these tasks include administrative and secretarial works, data entry, doing calls (inbound and outbound), writing reports, arranging meetings, and even organizing events. Your work varies and would really depend on the needs of the client.

Unlike any other online jobs, hireyourvirtualassistant.com is quite promising if you’re looking for something stable. Other jobs available on the Internet are usually freelance ones, allowing you to work on a project for as short as an hour or as long as three months. They’re definitely not good in the presence of your haunting monthly bills for your Internet connection and electricity, besides the fact that you still need to eat after that three months (the longest you could possibly have) of contractual work.

In hireyourvirtualassistant.com, you’re assured that you have your job for as long as you want it and you perform well.

Another fringe benefit of being a virtual assistant is the accessibility it offers. What else is better than working in the comfort of your own home? Most people don’t enjoy their jobs simply because of their location. Traveling is tiring and expensive. No one likes to travel long hours just to get to his office, minding everyday the traffic or the money being spent for bus or taxi fare.

Hireyourvirtualassistant.com gives you that rare opportunity to put up your own office in your own home. Add to that the advantage of having more time to spend for your family, friends, and yourself.

Finally, if you’re really looking for a good salary, then this job is perfect for you. It’s not only because you’re going to get paid P18,000.00 every month. Hireyourvirtualassistant.com understands the sentiments of those working online when it comes to payment process. It usually takes weeks or months before you can finally withdraw from your ATM account. That is why hireyourvirtualassistant.com finds the answer to this problem: to get you paid every week. No other job offers this kind of payment arrangement!

On the other hand, the requirements of the job are as follows:

Computer-literate
Has a PC/laptop and good Internet connection
Good interpersonal communication skills
Preferably a resident of Los Baños, Laguna

If you think you can handle the job well, then send your resume to Ms. Maritess Pasag. You can contact her through her email address at mpasag@hireyourvirtualassistant.com

What's better: an idealist or realistic film?

2008-10-08T23:24:00.000-07:00

One of my friends introduced me to this channel in Youtube called Pangea Day. It's a channel that showcases films from all over the world, whether funny, sad, inspiring, or what.

There are a lot of films I really like, but the one that really struck my heart is this French film called J'Attendrai Le Suivant (I'll Wait for the Next One). After viewing the film, I just wanted to punch the guy in the film, everyone involved in that film.

Are they really being too realistic?
Or it is me that is too idealistic?

Watch the film to know what I'm talking about.

An Analysis of the Pinoy Song "Saranggola ni Pepe"

2008-10-04T23:01:00.000-07:00

Saranggola ni Pepe
Sung by Celeste Legaspi
Written by Nonoy Gallardo

Matayog ang lipad ng saranggola ni Pepe
Matayog ang pangarap ng matandang bingi
Umihip ang hangin, nawala sa paningin
Sigaw ng kahapon, nilamon na ng alon
Malabo ang tunog ng kampanilya ni Padre
Maingay ang taginting, rosaryo ng babae
Nay... nay... nay... nay...
Nay... nay... nay... nay...

Matayog ang lipad ng saranggola ni Pepe
Matayog ang pangarap ng matandang bingi
Hinuli ang ibon, pinagsuot ng pantalon
Tinali ng pisi, hindi na nagsinturon
Dumaan ang jeepney at gumuhit pa sa kalye
Mauling ang iniwang hindi na tinabi
Nay... nay... nay... nay...
Nay... nay... nay... nay...

Matayog ang lipad ng saranggola ni Pepe
Matayog ang pangarap ng matandang bingi
Lumuha ang langit at ang mundo ay nanliit
Pinilit umawit, ang naglaro'y isang ingit
Kumakaway sa bakod ang anghel na nakatanod
Sumusuway sa utos, puso'y sinusunod
Nay... nay... nay... nay...
Nay... nay... nay... nay...

Did you know that "Saranggola ni Pepe" by Celeste Legaspi was actually a song depicting the history of the Philippines?

I got this information from Ms. Cielo Lantican-Santos, director at De La Salle University-Canlubang.

According to her, the Pepe in Saranggola ni Pepe is referring to Jose Rizal, whose nickname is Pepe.

The first stanza is about the Philippines during the Spanish regime.The images like kampanilya, Padre, and rosaryo all pertain to the the Catholic religion the Spaniards taught us to embrace.

The second stanza, on the other hand, talks about the Phippines' situation during the invasion of the American government. The line Hinuli ang ibon, pinagsuot ng pantalon depicts how the Americans have pushed us to speak their language and adapt their culture.

The third stanza's meaning, however, is not clear. But, I got my own analysis of the lines. For me, the third stanza, just like the first two, also shows a portion of Philippines' history. This time, it talks about the country's situation during the Martial Law. The lines

Lumuha ang langit at ang mundo ay nanliit
Pinilit umawit, ang naglaro'y isang ingit

pertain to the oppression present that time. The last two lines, on the other hand, seem to me an invitation and a challenge for all Filipinos. If you notice, the verb tense of the last two lines is present tense. Meaning, the lyricist of the song is giving us a picture of hope--that one day, the country will finally be released from all kinds of oppression, captivity, and restriction. He is challenging us to reach the state he described in the last line: puso'y sinusunod.

If you have your own analysis of the song, or perhaps some additional information or corrections regarding the facts I have written here, feel free to post a comment or email me.

USC-CDC Election 2008 in UPLB

2008-10-04T22:20:00.000-07:00

Noong nakaraang Setyembre 11, 2008, nagtala ang mga estudyante ng University of the Philippines Los Baños ng pinakamataas na porsyento ng mga bumoto o election turn-out sa katatapos lamang na USC-CSC (University Student Council-College Student Council) Election. Ang nasabing eleksyon ng mga mag-aaral sa UPLB ay nakapagtala ng 70.53%, pinakamataas hindi lamang sa buong kasaysayan ng unibersidad, kundi sa buong UP system (http://www.yupielbi.org).

Kasabay ng eleksyon para sa mga estudyanteng manunugkulan sa unibersidad, pinagbotohan din kung pumapayag ba ang mga estudyante ng UPLB na maging Plebisito na ang mga susunod na eleksyon sa halip na gamitin pa rin ang mga patakaran ayon sa 1987 Constitution. Matapos ang bilangan, lumabas na 93.25% ang sumasang-ayon sa paggamit ng Plebisito, dahilan upang magkaroon ng Plebiscite Turnout na 70.55%.

Sa naganap na USC-CDC election, nanguna ang partido ng SAKBAYAN sa pagkamit ng mga pwesto sa konseho. Tanging ang bagong halal na Student Council Chair ng College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) ang nagmula sa partidong BUKLOD.

Significant Figures
Election Turnout: 70.53%
Plebiscite Turnout: 70.55 %
YES- 95.5 %
NO- 1.63%
ABSTAIN: 2.62%
NOT COUNTED- 0.25%

Narito naman ang listahan ng mga bagong estudyanteng manunungkulan sa University Student Council, pati na ang kabuuang bilang ng mga nakalap nilang boto:

UNIVERSITY STUDENT COUNCIL FINAL OFFICIAL ELECTION RESULT

CHAIRPERSON
Charisse Bernadine Bañez: 4,590

VICE-CHAIRPERSON
John Mark Violeta: 3,389

COUNCILORS

1. Mark Vincent Baracao: 2,869
2. Aira Olivia Garcia: 2,869
3. Jan Lloyd Balon: 2,807
4. Raynaldo Araja Jr. : 2,789
5. Odraude Alub: 2,736
6. Jose Alberto Nuez: 2,728
7. Christian Kevin Latiza: 2, 694
8. Maricris Cynthia Ariz Delos Santos: 2,655
9. Adrianne Mark Ng: 2,612
10. Adrian Miki Macalanda: 2,552

Source: Samahan ng Kabataan para sa BAYAN (SAKBAYAN)

Congratulations sa lahat! Nawa'y magampanan nyo nang maayos ang inyong mga tungkulin bilang mga kabataang lider ng bayan.

Maraming salamat kay Liberty, Rhods, at sa SAKBAYAN para sa lahat ng impormasyon.

test

2008-10-01T13:52:00.000-07:00

pilipinas ang bayan ko

2008-09-30T15:39:00.000-07:00

pula
asul
puti
dilaw

In My Name- End Poverty and Inequality

2008-09-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

In My Name 'End Poverty and Inequality' Campaign

Think your name is not worthy enough to change the world?
Think again.

Just last month, various organizations, worldwide groups, and prominent supporters had launched the In My Name- End Poverty and Inequality Campaign.

The campaign is a global online action against poverty and inequality, aiming to call the attention of all governments to keep their promises that were included at the Millennium Development Goals.

What is this Millennium Development Goals?

It is composed of eight goals that 189 governments have agreed to attain by the year 2015. The Millennium Development Goals were agreed upon in the year 2000, so now, only seven years is left to fulfill the promise.

The Millennium Development Goals are:

1. Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

2. Achieve Universal Primary Education

3. Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

4. Reduce Child Mortality

5. Improve Maternal Health

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other Diseases

7. Ensure Environmental Sustainability

8. Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Each goal is connected with another goal, and all leads to poverty.

So how could our names help?

In the In My Name Campaign, everyone is invited to let his voice be heard. This is a chance for all to urge their governments to stick with their promises. This is a call to end poverty to let it become a history.

The steps are just quick: (lifted from http://www.whitebandaction.org/act-now)

1. Sign the in my name petition

Sign the in my name petition and tell your leaders to act in your name to end poverty and inequality.

2. Sign the in my name pledge

Send an even stronger message by adding your own personal pledge, so world leaders see we are real people with real determination to hold them to their promises.

3. Add in my name to your blog

Let your own networks of friends and supporters know about in my name. We've got photos, videos and lots of other content you can use to spread the word.

4. Stand Up and Take Action

Join us on October 17th - 19th for a huge mobilisation called Stand Up and Take Action, when tens of millions of people in over 130 countries unite in a single voice to call for the eradication of poverty and inequality.

5. Support the Every Human Has Rights campaign

2008 is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 60th anniversary. Join the global conversation about human rights and the values that unite us as one human family at Every Human Has Rights.

So that's it.
Urge our governments to keep their promises.
Be heard.
Let your name appear.

For more info, visit http://www.whitebandaction.org/

iTunes + iPod: Apple's Latest Offer this September 2008

2008-09-18T23:18:00.001-07:00

So again, I'm having this Steve Jobs/Apple/Mac syndrome. I couldn't help praise Apple products. So while I'm browsing apple.com, I got this latest news about their products, particularly updates on iTunes and iPod.

Check them here to watch the video.

iTunes 8

Apple is now offering iTunes 8 which provides new and better features. According to the video, 65 million customers have registered for iTunes, making it the "number one music distrubutor in any format in US". It is being followed respectively by Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon, and Target.
Some of these amazing features are the following:

HD TV shows
accessibility
new browsing
Genius

Among the four, the most promising, I think, are the HD TV shows and Genius.

With HD TV shows, you can now watch movies from your Apple TV to your computer.
In line with this, NBC has came back in iTunes, making our favorite shows like Heroes, The Office, and 30 Rock available for viewing.

Genius, on the other hand, is a very powerful one. This feature automatically (take note) creates playlists from songs in your library that go great together.
How does Genius work?
Suppose a song is being played in your iTunes. Once you turn on Genius, information about that song will be automatically sent to Apple (album, genre, artist, etc.). Genius will then search for songs in the library of other iTunes users all over the world that would fit ang go great together with the song you have chosen. Ola, you now have a new playlist!
This playlist could be refreshed and customized, too.

For more info regarding iTunes 8, read here.

iPod

Classic. Today, iPod Classic can store up to 30, 000 songs with Apple upgrading it from 80 GB to 120GB. The price, however, is still the same--$249.
Nano. Apple is now releasing a newer iPod Nano, which is claimed by Jobs as the thinnest iPod ever made. Apple is also proud to say that this newest iPod Nano are toxic-free and very environmental-friendly, from its materials up to its shipment. With the combined features of first and second generation and third generation iPod Nanos, the latest Ipod Nano offers also a lot of cool features. One of my favorites is the shake-shuffle feature. You shake your ipod, and all songs will be automatically shuffled. But the best one, I think, is the nano-chromatic, which allows people to choose iPod Nano with the color they want. Apple offers nine colors: gray, purple, blue, green, yellow, pink, red, orange, and black. The Genius feature is also available for this version. The following is the iPod Nano-chromatic TV AD

Touch.Here are some of the cool and newest features of iPod Touch:

-Nike + iPod Touch- iPod touch now includes built-in Nike + iPod support. Just slip the Nike + iPod Sensor (available separately) into your Nike+ shoe and start your run. The sensor communicates wirelessly with your iPod touch, tracking your time, distance, and calories burned. It even gives you voice feedback on your progress.
-Built-in speaker
-Integerated Volume Control
-Accelerometor
-Genius playlist
-Stunning 3.5 inch display
-Thousands of applications available at the Apple store
(games, games, games like Spore Origins, Real Soccer 2009, and Need for Speed Undercover! gusto ko lahat nyan!!!!)

That's it. I really think Apple products are really worth buying. I'm a living proof of that!

"Stay Foolish. Stay Hungry"-Steve Jobs

2008-09-18T23:18:00.000-07:00

Well, all of us have our worries and problems. I have my own too, which gives me , I think, the license to cry this afternoon. But I preferred not to do that. Instead, I thought of something to write in my blog.

Jared advised me to write something about our MacBook. Well, not a bad idea. Since we got one for ourselves, I never switch back in using Windows again. (awwww...). So I decided why not share my thoughts regarding the benefits of using a Mac?

At first, I got this title: "Ten Reasons to Use Mac Computers and other Apple Products. And then I decided to have a picture of Steve Jobs in this post. While scanning some pictures, I encountered this speech of Steve Jobs as guest speaker in the 2005 Commencement Exercise at Stanford University.

I was easily caught by his speech' catch phrase--Stay Hungry.Stay Foolish. And so, a minute later, I found myself crying. Allow me to share with you this wonderful speech of his:

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish
Steve Jobs- Commencement Speech
Stanford University, 2005

This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.

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.

Yes, I think need that:

Don't waste my life 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.

fotografia

2008-09-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

Photography comes from the Greek words photos or "light" and graphos or "writing or painting" (Kelley E. Wilder). It is then the art of painting with the use of light.

The first man to use the term photography was John Frederick William Herschel. (Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 1st edition 1884-1928; 2nd edition 1989). I t is said that Herschel used the term in his paper he read to the Royal Society on March 14, 1839.

Nowadays, the power of photography lies not only in one's camera or skill. Sometimes, a picture should be just a plain picture-- one that tries to imprison a portion of the world that we cannot fully get a hold.

Or simply, photography is there for us to keep the memories we want to carry for the rest of our lives.

Sereno. Sereno is a Pilipino word describing the dusk. Well, sereno is not translated as dusk itself. When I was young, my Lola and Nanay used to shout" "Jelyn, pasok na!Masereno na!"

I think sereno is being used in most Pilipino communities to describe the atmosphere of a dusk. Masereno--probably it means the air is already cold, the sun is currently waving his hand goodbye, and it is already getting dark.

When I was young, I don't understand why I have to go inside when it already becomes masereno. My nanay said it's because of hamog (dew in English.) But when I grew up, I started to ask: Isn't hamog present during dawn and not during dusk?

Probably one of the mysteries of Philippine language and culture.

Memorya. Memorya(memory in English). That picture on the left makes me miss Jared's long hair. He thinks most of the time, by the way. :)

Bisekleta.

I was already in Grade 6 when I finally learned how to ride a medium-sized bike. Right now, I am nervous to ride larger bikes than that. The last time I tried,
nagtaob ako. :D
But aside from that bicycle story, I still have one.
Right now, I am part of a team that will make bamboo bikes.
I just wish it will not be too expensive.
I really hope the Philippines' problem in high fares due to oil price hikes
will be finally resolved by bamboo bikes.

Kainitang tapat. Kainitang tapat is one of the Tagalog phrases I acquired from my mother. I am using this phrase to describe noon, particularly 12 o'clock noon. The phrase, probably, is an attempt to put into words the picture of a clock's hand during 12 noon.

The word tapat has various meanings in Pilipino. It could be honest, which is the most common and well-known translation and use of the word. The word can also serve as a verb: "Magtapat ka, sinong gumawa nito sau?" or "Magtapat ka na kasi ng pag-ibig." I think this use originated also from the the idea of being honest or tapat. Magtapat allows someone to tell something that is honest.

It could also function as a preposition, meaning across. I think the context of kainitang tapat could be derived from this definition. As mentioned earlier, the phrase kainitang tapat is an attempt to depict in words the hands of a clock at 12 noon. Nakatapat sila sa sa alas-dose.
Kainitan, on the other hand, is just a term for the hot temperature at noon.

What's with photos that makes people fond of taking and collecting them?

Well, probably some people find the action a useful tool not to forget the past. Others, I think, are just really narcissist. But I do believe all of us are narcissist. We love ourselves and we want ourselves to explore wonderful things in life. I guess taking and collecting photos are ways explore wonderful things. That's what makes photography so indulging.

website buddies

2008-09-17T00:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday proves that there are still good people on earth.

Yesterday night was scheduled to be the website presentation of ipsb.com or iskolarparasabayan.com.

The website was born as a response to the increasing cost of education in UPLB and other State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in the Philippines. The website aims to provide help to those students who have the right to education and yet could not afford it. It pushes pro-education campaigns and envisions that one day, everyone in the Philippines could consider themselves as educated ones-- true scholars.

One way to pursue this goal is to provide students with scholarship grants. The site will get its fund from donations, which will be transparent to everyone.

The website could also push their other campaigns such as digitized literature/e-journal, and funding research.

It was mid-July when I became part of the team who would take care of everything about the site. Basically, all three of us--Tito Chino Santos, our head, Jared Plata, a UPLB iskolar (and my boyfriend), and I were looking for other people who might volunteer as part of the team. What we really need during that time were content authors or contributors. As much as possible, we would like the website to be run by students since it is a website dedicated for them.

Thr first group of contributors comes from a poetry organization in UPLB--the Samahang Layb. Three of them are really active and committed to help: Mailan Falculan, Rhods Ogrimen, and Liberty Notarte. But three active members are not enough to sustain the website's content.

And so, yesterday, we conducted this sort of recruitment. Jared and I called first our close friends and asked if they could go to our presentation. Luckily, out of almost twenty people we invited, seven of them showed their support:
Tata Palacay
Julien
Angel
RJ
Marco Apacionado
Kevin
Kahlil

Well, most of them were our friends and I really appreciate their sort of "rescuing" us eventhough they are not really into that thing. Marco, for example, thought that Jared and I were just in the mood to prepare dinner for them. He didn't know that he was going to be part of our team.

Tata, of course, was one of our source of strenght that time. Julien, on the other hand, was very active during the discussion. She seems very excited and committed.

Well, I guess that's what the website needs right now--commitment. And I realize , who else would be as committed as our friends? We may be different in some aspects but I have already proven several times their commitment to me.